Port Fairy Folk Festival 2012…

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Can you think of a nicer way to spend a labour day weekend than listening to lovely music at the Port Fairy Folk Festival?

I was lucky enough to return for a third year of folkie goodness, carrying my low chair over my shoulder and drinking soy lattes to a lovely range of music.

The Port Fairy Folk Festival spans four days beginning Friday evening and ending lunch time on Monday. This year we drove down Friday after work so while we had a chance to see some of country Victoria we missed most of the first night but were lucky enough to be able to collect our wrist bands without needing to queue. The wristbands are your pass to the festival and in true festival style they need to stay on the whole weekend (fear not, they are waterproof and mean you are washable).

The festival takes place across a number of venues around town with the main one being at the cricket ground with five main stages and a giant entertainment tent and a drinking tent. Nearly every performance we saw was packed – occasionally to the point where we were stuck sitting outside listening to the music or at such an angle we couldn’t see the stage. Still, the music was always worth it.

A cute touch Dino pointed out to me was the sheep on the corrals coming in – we decided to think of this as cute rather than a hint at our natures.

This year we decided to take it a little more easy visiting the market stalls and my new favorite local store Pash (awesome, interesting and very affordable clothing and accessories – known for only stocking one size of each item). After Bean and I purchased new chairs (mine sadly was sitting by my front door at home) we headed down to the festival.

Normally each year we have set fairly tight agendas and must see lists highlighting our programs with vigor. This year it was a little more lets see where the wind takes us. And we made some lovely finds.

The following three acts ranked as my favorites;

Gossling – this band took the audience by surprise blending the stunning and unique voice of Helen Croome with interesting and original lyrics and some great music. I think this may well have been the first cd to sell out in the store. It’s hard to describe her style – but it’s worth checking out. I picked up a copy of both EP’s available and was surprised to see the never ending queue of teenage girls lining up for autographed versions. We listed to both albulms several times on the four hour drive home. While I think this Victorian singer is becoming bigger on the scene I wouldn’t be surprised to find her in the top twenty at some point. I can’t wait to hear more.

Ami Williamson – this was the only act we saw with a full standing ovation. Ami blended a stunning Fopera (Folk opera) voice with her sharp wit, ability to engage the audience and true showmanship. She worked the audience beautifully to the point were the teen boys beside me (i know, what were they doing there?) who had been dismissive at the start muttered to each other how good she was and seemed to totally forget their plan to sneak off once the show started to the Shebeen (drinking tent). I would pay to go see Ami again in a heart beat – it was one of the most amusing and entertaining acts I have ever been to.

Krystal Warren – a US artist with a voice like rich coffee and red wine took my breath away. This was music for a Sunday all throaty and jazzy with a great blend of original pieces and a few classics. It was the final performance that we went to see on the Monday and it was a perfect end to a great festival.

Music from all three artists can be found on iTunes!

I can’t believe it’s all over for another year but I had an amazing time and would highly recommended this very civilized music festival to any and all looking for a fun and entertaining alternative to the weekend at home.

PS – classic to find out that there was a Port Fairy Folk Festival iPhone app this year! I did loaded it and set it up but Vodafone has almost no reception there so couldn’t really use it.